The average phone upgrade cycle now extends beyond 42 months, according to Verizon CFO

When was the last time you bought yourself a new smartphone? Was it three and a half years ago? If so, you might be in for an upgrade already!

Verizon's Chief Financial Officer, Tony Skiadas, recently spoke at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference. According to him, there's a significant shift in consumer behavior regarding phone upgrades. The average upgrade cycle, he highlights, has now extended beyond 42 months. That's three and a half years.

The Verizon boss argues that customers are choosing to keep their devices longer due to improvements in smartphone durability and performance – yup, some phones are pretty good and are powerful enough to stay relevant for some years.

Also, some brands sell their phones with a promise of a seven-year software support, which sounds alluring.

Skiadas says that while there was a slight increase in upgrades in the fourth quarter of 2024, Verizon expects only mid-single-digit growth in upgrade volumes for 2025. Despite this trend, the company remains focused on customer retention and maintaining a disciplined approach to its offerings, he says.

In addition to the shift in upgrade patterns, Verizon continues to see steady growth in its wireless business. The company expects to add between 8 million and 8.5 million consumer and business subscribers in 2025, with most of that growth coming from prepaid-to-postpaid migration.

While prepaid has been a challenge in recent years, Verizon now sees an improving trend that will contribute to overall service revenue growth.

On the topic of connectivity, Skiadas emphasized Verizon's expansive network coverage, which reaches more than 99% of the areas where people live, work, and spend their time.

Of course, he talked about satellites, as this is a hot 2025 topic and no telco can ignore it.

He described satellite technology as a complementary solution and pointed to Verizon’s partnerships with Apple, Globalstar, Skylo, and AST SpaceMobile as part of its strategy to expand direct-to-device satellite capabilities. As satellite technology evolves, Verizon aims to integrate it into its services while exploring monetization opportunities.

The company projects wireless service revenue growth between 2% and 5% in 2025, influenced by pricing adjustments from 2024 and continued expansion in fixed wireless access.